At the sitting on Tuesday, Mr. Flinders Petrie gave a
a very curious account of his excavations of the temples and palaces of Khuenaten, a " Liberal" king of ancient Egypt, who appears to have been the first of the Realists. He inspired a realistic style of sculpture and painting, and in- troduced realism into every branch of art. "By an astonishing chance we have left to us a cast from the actual face of the King, Khuenaten, who led this change. We see in it strong idealism and obstinacy allied with a curious humanism and humour. His sole principle appears to have been the following of reason,—' living in the truth,' as he expressed it in his special motto. He was a humanistic rationalising despot." Part of his "living in the truth " consisted in practising "monogamy," and in worshipping the abstract notion of the sun's rays rather than the personified sun-god Ra. The modern votaries of realism will regret to learn that Khuenaten died at thirty, and that his faith and ideas were swept away by his ignorant and prejudiced fellow-countrymen.
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